//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 - Time of investigation // Story: On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons // by The dragon hunter //------------------------------// Chapter 8 - Time of investigation Observing the town of Greenville through the optics of the rifle from his hiding spot in the crown of a tree, Cloud Skipper couldn't shake the feeling that something was definitely wrong. The settlement was unusually silent and, despite the sun having set, the lights were still off. “Keep your eyes on the target, Hawk Eye,” the Lieutenant ordered to the other pegasus that sat on the sturdy oak branch, handing back the rifle to the sniper. Specialist Hawk Eye, a red stallion with a white mane, nodded and adjusted the camo net on his shoulders. Cloud Skipper jumped from the tall branch and used his wings to slow down his fall, landing safely on the soft soil of the forest, before crouching down and walking quickly toward one of the advanced observation posts, careful to remain hidden by the vegetation. On his path he met several of his fellow soldiers, hidden behind bushes, trees, or lying prone to the ground, all of their gazes locked onto the town in front of them. Many were silent, but he caught the faint sound of hushed conversations, mostly veterans that gave last minute advice to the rookies or guards that were simply wondering what was awaiting them in the town. He soon reached a brown earth pony stallion that was observing the town with binoculars, using a fallen trunk as cover. Staff Sergeant Linden Branch was a seasoned veteran, but judging by the way he was chewing his apple-flavored chewing gum, it was clear that he was nervous too. “Anything to report, Staff Sergeant?” “Negative, sir. Still nothing,” the earth pony replied without taking his eyes off from the lenses of the binoculars. “What shall we do?” he asked, finally averting his gaze from the town. “First of all, I'll call Lieutenant Blossom to know the situation on the other side. In the meantime, alert the others to get ready for action.” The Staff Sergeant nodded and went to spread the order to the rest of the unit. The pegasus put a hand on his ear, activating the radio inbuilt in his helmet. “Midnight, how's the situation there?” he asked through the thin microphone. “Still nothing, Skipper,” came the reply of the thestral mare through the com. “All's quiet. Too quiet if you ask me.” “I know, something's definitely off. My team is ready for action, what about your guys?” “We're ready to kick some ass.” Even if he couldn't see her face, by the sound of her voice he could imagine the smirk on the face of the mare. “Alright, let's not waste more time. Synchronize the watches, we move in three minutes.” “Roger that, I'll see you in the town,” the thestral replied before she closed the radio channel. “Okay fillies and gentlecolts, get tactical,” Skipper ordered through the main radio channel. “Hooah,” come the hushed reply from the nearby guards. Bullets were loaded in the firing chambers with the sharp noise of rifle shutters being pulled, while the correct position of the different armor plates were checked quickly but meticulously. The white pegasus leaned his back against the trunk, facing toward his troops. He drew his pistol, checked that the magazine was full, then he racked the slide, loading the firing chamber. “Winged units, ready to move on my mark to the closest row of roofs; fly low and quick. Ground units, cover us.” He watched the hands of the watch running quietly before, when the three minutes had passed, he gave the order. “Go!” As one, the pegasi took off and darted in the air toward the first row of roofs, crossing the grassy stretch that surrounded the town in a matter of seconds. The flight toward the buildings was short, but full of tension. The standard procedure was to perform recon from above to prevent bad surprises, but the recent rainstorm had left several thunderclouds in the sky over the town and with the air still humid the risk of being struck by lightning was high, thus making the option of a preliminary report unavailable. To their luck, both the pegasi and the thestrals reached the roofs without problem. The guards then proceeded to take position on the sloped tile roofs, which offered good cover from eventual threats while allowing a clear line of sight. Once he had confirmed from his counterpart of the Lunar Guards that they had reached the town without incident, Cloud Skipper called via radio to the rest of his troops. “The area is clear,” the lieutenant reported. “Ground units, advance.” Turning toward the forest he saw the rest of the Solar Guards leave their cover and advance at a quick but cautious pace toward the town with their weapons ready to use. Once they were all in position, the guards began to systematically advance toward the center of the town, with the pegasi providing cover from above, while unicorns and earth ponies checked every alley and house they met for suspicious activity. It didn't take them long to notice the first signs of damage. Many doors and windows were smashed, while the interiors of the houses showed clear signs of a fight. The guards had just surpassed the first two rows of building when the lieutenant's radio buzzed to life. “Sir, here's Linden Branch.” “I receive you, Staff Sergeant. Speak.” “Bubble Gun has found something in one of the houses.” “I'm coming.” He tapped a hand on the shoulder of a nearby pegasus to draw his attention. “I'm going to get a closer look. Stay alert for anything suspicious.” Cloud Skipper jumped from the roof and used his wings to glide to the ground. “Where is she?” he asked to the brown stallion. The earth pony pointed toward a nearby two story house. “In the living room.” After having literally walked on the front door, Cloud Skipper followed the noise of hooves on the wood boards to the living room, paying attention to not stumble upon one of the countless objects scattered on the floor. He found a short unicorn mare in golden armor facing the farthest wall in the room. Her head was cocked to the side and her horn was glowing for what the lieutenant assumed was a scan. Hearing him enter, the mare turned toward the pegasus, revealing her face. She had an orange coat and fiery red curly hair that her helmet barely managed to hide. But the most disconcerting part of her was her big green eyes, always sparkling with enthusiasm and curiosity, like that of a filly. The air of innocence that the mare seemed to emanate was broken by the 40 mm grenade launcher that she carried strapped to her back and the relative bandolier of ammo that crossed her chest. “Hi, sir!” Bubble Gun saluted him with her distinctive childish smile. The lieutenant rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but to smirk. Bubble Gun was maybe the best explosives expert that he had ever met, and as long as she did her work, he was willing to forgive her unprofessional behavior. “Hello, Bubble. Did you find something of interest?” “Weeell, actually there are two things. First of all, these,” she gestured to a series of circular black marks on the wall behind her. “Scorch marks?” the pegasus asked, getting closer to look better. The unicorn specialist nodded. “They are too similar to one another to have been made by a dragon. I suspect a magical origin.” “Unicorns?” “It's possible, but oddly enough I can't detect any traces of magic. It's like if somepony or somebody has removed them.” Cloud Skipper stared at the burn marks. They were very familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had already seen them. After a few more moments he turned to the mare. “You said you've also found something else.” “Yep. I've found these on the floor.” With a flash of her horn, she used her telekinesis to grab a cartridge case from the floor and held it up to the level of her face. “It's a small caliber, a pistol, probably a civilian model or the kind supplied to police forces.” Cloud Skipper pointed his flashlight downward, revealing five brass shell casings. Working off of intuition, he pointed the flashlight towards the spot where the origin of the shots would have likely originated from. All he found were some muddy hoofprints on a carpet. 'No blood. Either the pony wasn't a good shooter, or the bullets weren't effective.' Skipper's radio came to life. “Sir, here's Corporal Spearhead.” “I hear you, Corporal. What's happened?” “We've found the Puma of the missing squad abandoned near the train station. By the looks of it, it seems undamaged.” “Any sign of the members of the squad?” “Negative, sir.” “Alright, check if the vehicle still works. We might need its firepower.” “Understood,” the corporal said, closing the channel. “It's strange,” Skipper noted aloud. “A Puma would be a very profitable item on the black market. Why have they left it here?” “Uhm, maybe they didn't know the right contacts to sell that kind of material?” the explosives expert offered. “Or maybe because they didn't come here to raid the town,” a voice coming from behind them said suddenly. Taken by surprise, the pegasus whirled around, pointing his flashlight and his pistol toward the owner of the voice... only to find Midnight Blossom standing a few feet from him. “Skipper!” the Night Guard officer hissed, attempting to shield her face from the blinding light. Thestrals had excellent night vision, but their eyes were also very sensitive to strong lights. “Point that damn thing away!” “Sorry!” the pegasus hurried to point the flashlight to the ground. “Are you alright?” he asked with concern, approaching his friend. “Yeah, I'm fine,” the mare replied, blinking a few times to adjust her vision. “What are you doing here?” “Your Staff Sergeant alerted me that you guys have found something,” she explained, coming closer to him. “So, since the night is our domain, I took some of my guards to give you day guys assistance.” She then punched him on the shoulder. Hard. “Ouch!” “Now we're even, snow coat,” she grumbled. “You know, sometimes I forget that thestrals are closer to earth ponies than to pegasi,” the pegasus said, rubbing his offended arm. “Oh, stop whining like a filly. And besides,” she lowered her voice, giving him her best bedroom eyes, “I thought you liked when I'm rough.” The cheeks of the pegasus turned red as a tomato. “Anyway, what did you mean before?” he asked after having cleared his throat, trying to hide his embarrassment by changing topics. “Haven't you noticed that they didn’t take anything?” Cloud Skipper blinked a few times before glancing around. She was right. The room was a complete mess, many objects had been put out of place, overturned, scattered on the floor, or even broken during the scuffle, but it didn't seem to be missing anything. “If they didn't attack the town to raid it, then why did they attack?” Bubble Gun asked. “They evidently came here for something else.” “Like what?” “Where are the inhabitants?” the thestral asked. “We haven't seen any of them.” “Maybe they are being held as prisoner somewhere else,” Cloud Skipper offered. “Optimistic as usual, uh?” “We have yet to see a corpse, and the blood that we have found so far is not enough to indicate lethal wounds.” “Well, there's only one way to find out,” Midnight Blossom declared as she headed out of the house, followed by the two Solar Guards. As the Guards proceeded toward the center of the town, the extent of damage visibly increased but, aside from the occasional scorch marks on the walls, they didn't find any clue that could help them to identify the nature of the aggressors or the fate of the inhabitants. When they reached the market square, the clouds had covered the moon, blocking the only source of light that they had so far. The use of the flashlights would reveal their position, so the only other option was to rely on the night vision of the Thestrals. “I see something lying on the ground, a pair of bodies,” Midnight Blossom reported, peeking from behind the van they used as cover. “Ponies?” Cloud Skipper asked her. “I think so, the shapes and the sizes are right, but my guts say that there's something off.” She furrowed her brows. “I don't like it. Smells like a trap.” “Me too. The best thing to do now is-” Without warning, a unicorn medic left her cover and sprinted toward the motionless bodies. “Sterile Gauze, what the fuck are you doing!?” a nearby Sergeant shouted with rage. “Get your stupid ass back here, that’s an order!” “Maybe they're still alive, sarge!” the mare yelled back without stopping. “Stupid idiot! I got her!” Midnight said, darting toward the unicorn. “Midnight, wait!” Cloud Skipper exclaimed, but too late. 'Fuck!' “Cover them!” he ordered to the rest of the units. Sterile Gauze had already reached the bodies and was currently kneeled beside one of them, checking for a pulse. The moment her hand touched the body, she froze in place. Instead of soft fur, all she felt was a rough surface with a consistency somewhere between leather and plastic. With a growing sense of dread, the medic grabbed the body by the shoulder to flip it onto its back, lighting up her horn at the same time to see more clearly. The moment she was able to clearly see what was lying on the ground, the mare fell on her hind quarters with a startled yell. “Changeling!” Sterile Gauze screamed in panic, backing away hastily from the insectoid creature. Midnight, who had just reached the medic, heard her scream and instantly reacted. The thestral grabbed the unicorn by the collar of her armor and drew her away from the insectoid creature, while her free arm drew out one of her pistols from the holster and fired twice into the creatures head, repeating the procedure with the other one. “All units, we have a Ghost Locust code! Repeat, Ghost Locust!” she shouted in the radio, her gaze darting about rapidly. The reaction of the Equestrian Guards was immediate. Several orders coming from the various NCOs began echoing in the air, while the guards hurried to perform the tasks for which they had been trained: the pegasi opened their wings, ready to engage the enemy from high, the unicorns prepared to cast spells, and the earth ponies readied their support weapons. “We gotta move,” Midnight ordered to the unicorn. “We're sitting ducks here!” The medic remained still, her gaze focused on the corpses. Growling with impatience, the thestral gave a quick glance at the dead Changelings, staring long enough to make her double take. 'What the heck?' The adrenaline rush had prevented her from noticing it sooner, but now she clearly saw that riddling the bodies of the drones were several third degree burns, from which came a disgusting stink of burnt insect. The smell was faint, mostly washed away by the rain. 'And it has stopped raining for a while...' “Midnight, what are you still doing there?!” Cloud Skipper shouted from his cover. “You two are exposed in the middle of the street!” “Somebody preceded us, Skipper! These assholes were already dead.” “What?” “You heard me.” “... I'm coming.” The pegasus covered the distance between his cover and the two mares at the speed of lightning, landing just a few steps away. “See?” she said, kicking the dead creature. The pegasus studied the corpses for a moment. “We're still in deep shit. Two drones can't have attacked a town on their own.” “I hate it when you’re right,” the thestral deadpanned without looking at him, extracting her second pistol. Cloud Skipper followed her gaze, but his eyes weren't able to see as well as hers in the low-light environment. “Bubble Gun, fire a flare!” the pegasus ordered to the unicorn mare. The explosives expert loaded a signaling rocket in her grenade launcher and fired it into the air. The flare crossed through the air like a miniature meteor before, reaching its peak, it began its descent while hanging from a small parachute. As soon as the light of the flare brightened the street, Cloud Skipper felt his mouth go dry and his irises shrank in shock. He had seen several crime scenes and dead bodies during his military career, but nothing could have prepare him for the sight in front of him. Corpses. Dozens and dozens of Changeling corpses were lying on the ground, scattered among the destroyed market stands. Some were still intact, while others were literally torn to pieces, forming a gruesome trail of death that ran along all over the market square and proceeded to the main street. The guards left their cover to see more clearly. More than a few of those with less experience began to puke violently at the sight of the carnage. Midnight Blossom whistled in amazement. She didn't seem disturbed by the sight; quite the contrary, she looked like she was enjoying the sight in front of them, like if it was a sunset on the sea. “Great Maker, what the heck happened here?” Cloud Skipper asked in shock with a barely audible tone. “I don't know, but whoever did this, I owe him a drink,” the Lieutenant of the Lunar Guard commented casually with a dark smirk. Ignoring Midnight's comment, the pegasus turned toward a nearby guard with a radio pack on his back. “Contact HQ. We must inform the princesses.” The flight of the Phantom over the forest proceeded without problem for over an hour when the voice of the pilot came out from the speakers, interrupting the activities of the team in the cargo bay. “Zealot, we are nearing the target,” Gusay alerted in the typical unperturbed, almost bored tone that seemed to characterize all the pilots, no matter the gender or the species. “Excellent, contact the Last Sunset,” she ordered to the pilot before she turned toward her mission companion, who was about to put a plasma grenade in a specific slot of his armor. “Zhar, prepare to disembark.” He nodded, placing the explosive device in his belt with a satisfying CLICK, then he grabbed his backpack from the floor and donned it. Both Zhar and Tarya had prepared a backpack containing basic survival kits, food supplies sufficient for three days, and the necessary equipment for the mission. The Zealot was carrying in her bag a field communication booster powerful enough to transmit their radio signals up to the battlecruiser, while the Commando... Now that she thought about it, Taria wasn't entirely sure what Zhar had put in his backpack. 'I think I saw him take a detonator...' she thought. She bent to grab her own backpack when a hand holding a small bag appeared in her visual field. “I hope you still have space for this,” Nax said. “What is it?” the young Zealot asked out of curiosity, looking at the black bag, noticing a Forerunner rune written in green. The rune of medicine. “I took the liberty of preparing a small medkit for you two. Nothing too fancy, just the basic stuff, with a little extra.” Not too far away the Major snorted in disgust at the sight of the medkit. He seemed about to make a nasty comment about it, but a dirty look from the Spec Ops Officer convinced him that it was wiser to keep his mouth shut. Tarya looked at the small bag for a moment, reflecting. A part of her found the very idea of carrying a medkit offensive, as if Nax was doubting their abilities. A more rational part of her told her that it was just a way for the doctor to give his support to their mission even if he could no longer take part in it. “You are not forced to accept it,” Nax said, noticing her hesitation. Shaking off the residual indecision, the Zealot reached out with a hand toward the medkit and grabbed it. “Thank you, Nax,” she said with sincerity, putting the medkit in her backpack. “Although, I hope that there will be no need to use it. No offense.” The doctor snapped his lower maws and waved a hand dismissively. “Don't worry, none taken. I'm still a Sangheili, I understand the implications of accepting it. Take it just as a reminder to always give your best.” “Just like training,” the Zealot said with a chuckle. The menace of a medical visit was one of the best ways to spur the cadets to commit themselves on top of their ability. The doctor nodded and walked away, clearly happy to have given his contribution to the mission. Turning toward the Commando, she saw Zhar give her a nod of approval. The two of them headed to the recharge station to retrieve their weapons and, after having checked that the batteries were completely charged, they proceeded to secure them to the magnetic attachments of their armor. “Incoming transmission from the Last Sunset,” Gusay reported from the cockpit. “On the holotank,” Tarya instructed, turning toward the communication device. After a few moments needed for the projector to warm up, the imposing life-size hologram of the Shipmaster appeared in front of the two officers. “Status report,” Vraal asked curtly. “The flight went flawlessly and according to the pilot we are about to reach our insertion point.” “Excellent. Considering the nature of the terrain and the kind of vegetation, we estimate that from there it will take you roughly an hour to reach the target. We are sending you the updated images of the sector. They will make your task easier.” The Zealot nodded in appreciation. Wandering aimlessly in an alien forest because of incorrect maps was the last thing that she wanted. “What about our orders?” “Your primary goal is to locate the exact source of that energy beam and determine if it poses a threat for the ship. If so, make it harmless. You have complete freedom of action in this regard, but try to contain the collateral damage. Meanwhile, try to apprehend as much as possible about the inhabitants, in particular their strengths and their weaknesses.” “Understood.” “Good luck then, and may your blades brighten your path in the darkness,” the Shipmaster said, closing the transmission after the two officers had returned the salute. A couple of minutes later, the Phantom slowed down until it stopped, then its side doors opened, revealing a small clearing completely surrounded by thick vegetation. 'Here we go,' Tarya thought as she and Zhar got closer to the edge of the platform. The rest of the team snapped to attention and wished them good luck on the mission. The two officers returned the greeting, then they jumped from the dropship, landing with agility on the grassy surface over three meters below. As soon as their feet touched the ground, the side doors closed, the turbines increased their speed, and the Phantom darted toward space. Tarya unconsciously held her breath as she saw the shuttle fly to the night sky with increasing speed, until it was just a small bright point lost amongst the multitude of stars. 'Hmm, either they don't consider a retreating ship a threat, or my hypothesis of a coincidence wasn't so daring,’ she thought at the lack of energy beams shot at the Phantom. Still, she decided to keep such observations to herself. “Which way?” Zhar asked, turning to her. The Zealot opened a small panel in her left arm guard, conjuring a small holo screen. She tapped a pair of commands and a navigation point appeared on their HUDs. “There,” she said, pointing in a south-east direction. The Commando nodded and pulled out his plasma repeater. “I'll take point.” Cloud Skipper huffed tiredly as he sat on the hood of one of the military vehicles parked in front of the police station. There were over a dozen Solar and Lunar guards all around him, all just having came back from a patrol or from a surveillance run, that were trying to use the short break to rest a bit, play a game, chat, or read. A pair of guards were even asleep. 'The Maker's only know how much I'd like to take a nap,' he thought, rubbing his eyes. It was already the third patrol to which he had taken part in, but despite everyponies hope, any attempt to find survivors of the Changeling attack hadn't yielded results. He took off his helmet and drank a long sip of water from his canteen, before spilling a bit of the water on his face to chase off fatigue. 'At least the reinforcements arrived quickly.' Everywhere he looked, he saw guards of both services securing the area, while forensic teams were gathering evidences from the huge crime scene, taking photos, collecting samples, and performing magical scans, all under the light of countless portable floodlights. Once the news about the fate of the town had reached Canterlot, the princesses had wasted no time in sending reinforcements. In record time the Eclipse, one of the new Dreadnought-class zeppelins of the Equestrian Air Force, had taken off for Greenville carrying a large contingent of guards, along with princess Luna herself. The night princess was currently on the other side of the square, listening to the report of Wind Tracker, a member of the Scout Corps. Skipper couldn't make out the topic of the conversation because of the distance, but judging from the expression of the princess, she looked concerned and intrigued at the same time by the words of the scout. It was strange to see the princess talk with somepony almost as tall as she. Luna and Celestia were amazons compared to the rest of the ponies. Although, to be fair, Wind Tracker wasn't a pony, but a buffalo. She was dressed with a lighter version of the guards' armor, colored matt bronze instead of purple or gold, a forest green set of fatigues, and a red band adorned with a pair of raven feathers around her head. It was still relatively rare to see members of her species outside their usual territories. Until very recent times, the buffaloes lived isolated from the rest of the region, having little contact with the ponies, but things had changed after the events of what was unofficially known as 'the Apple Orchards War’, a confrontation between the inhabitants of Appleloosa and the tribe of Chief Thunderhooves resolved in a nonviolent way thanks to the intervention of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. After that conflict, in a meeting of historic importance, the great assembly of the buffalo tribes had decided that it was time for their race to come out from their isolation and play a more active role in Equestria's society. Amongst the results of such decision, many buffaloes had joined the Royal Guards, offering their natural ability to read the tracks and blend with the surroundings to become scouts and explorers. He heard a dull thud not too far away. Just a few meters from where he and his fellow soldiers were resting there was a long line of body bags, each one containing a dead Changeling, waiting to be brought away. Now and then, a pair of ponies would arrive carrying a new body bag on a stretcher, before depositing it without much ceremony onto the ground, as had just happened. “The row is growing,” Hawk Eye commented without raising his eyes from his cards. The sniper was sitting on the ground, engaged in a card game with Bubble Gun. Judging by the happy expression of the explosive expert, the Lieutenant guessed who was winning free drinks for the next night off. “Not that I'm complaining.” Cloud Skipper had to agree with him. Every dead Changeling was one less to be worried about. “I wonder where they are taking the bodies,” Bubble Gun inquired casually. “The brasses want to know more about the nature of their wounds. The damage doesn’t match to those caused by any kind of weapon or spell known, so they're sending the bodies to some lab to perform an autopsy,” was the response of the pegasus Lieutenant. Midnight Blossom snorted with contempt. She was leaning with her back against the side of one of the Puma’s, glaring at the line of Changeling's corpses. “Were it for me, I would have just stacked these bastards in a pile and set fire to their blasted carcasses,” the thestral mare said with clear hatred, lighting up a cigarette and throwing the still burning match toward the black sacks to emphasize her opinion. The still burning stick was about to land on one of the cadaver pouches when it was suddenly enveloped by a blue light and disappeared in a flash. “What-?” The sound of somepony clearing her throat made the little group of guards turn in direction of the noise. The princess of the night was standing a few meters away, dressed in the same uniform that she wore during the meeting with the griffon ambassadors, holding the match in a hand. Without looking away from the Lunar Guard Lieutenant, the princess blew out the match and dropped it on the ground. “Midnight, as much as I too do not have any sympathy for these awful creatures, I would be grateful if you could avoid further attempts at destroying the evidence. The work of the investigation team is already difficult enough.” She didn't raise her voice. She didn't need to. Her stern expression was more than sufficient to make it clear to Midnight that she was disappointed in her behavior. The thestral hung her head in shame, flattening her ears against her head. “I'm sorry, princess. I just can't stand the sight of these monsters.” She paused to take a deep drag of smoke, shuddering as she released it. “Not after what they did to Blaze...” the mare finished in a barely audible tone, her golden eyes betraying sadness as painful memories began to emerge in her mind. Cloud Skipper hopped down from the hood of the Puma and wrapped one of his wings around her to comfort her. Princess Luna grimaced in sorrow for her friend, knowing perfectly well what memory had just surfaced. She was there when Midnight's brother was killed in battle during the invasion of Canterlot. The thestral mare could only cry in anguish as the enchanted blade of the Changeling princess pierced the chest of her brother from side to side. The memory was her most recurrent nightmare, even after two years since the tragedy. The uneasy moment was interrupted by a blinding flash of golden light and the characteristic sound of a teleport coming from the other side of the square, in front of the town hall. Princess Celestia had arrived. “I have to update my sister about the situation,” Luna informed, getting closer to the thestral mare and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Try to get some rest. You all have earned it,” the alicorn suggested, offering her a sympathetic smile. Midnight Blossom nodded and gave her a little thankful smile. “Yeah, a bit of rest sounds good. I think I saw a rather inviting couch,” she said, heading for the inside of the police station. “I'll keep her company,” Cloud Skipper said, exchanging a look with Luna. The princess nodded her gratitude to the pegasus, knowing how close those two were. If there was anypony able to make her feel better, it was him. After the duo had disappeared over the double door, Luna turned away and walked toward the town hall.  As she went to meet her sister, a part of the princess couldn't shake off a sense of worry that had begun to grow in her. ‘What took her so long?' “It's far worse than I expected,” Celestia said at the sight of the devastation surrounding them. Neither of them were new to this kind of violence, but it had been long since events like this had occurred. Not even the battle of Canterlot during the Changeling invasion had been so gruesome. “What is the situation?” she asked her sister. “All eight hundred and seventy-three inhabitants are missing, along with the six members of the recon team sent to investigate the loss of contacts. We are still looking for eventual survivors, but I'm the first to think that the chances of finding any are nearly nonexistent. The attack of the Changelings was too sudden.” Luna let out a harsh sigh. “I still cannot believe that we have lost so many of our subjects because of those monsters.” “I fear that this is not an isolated case,” Celestia said quietly. Luna froze in place. “What do you mean?” Luna asked worriedly. “There have been developments since you left Canterlot. During the last few hours there have been several reports of towns all across the region that have ceased any form of contact. The list now includes ten settlements.” Upon hearing the distressful news, Luna felt her knees give away and was forced to grab the exhaust pipe of a nearby gutter to support herself. “How many?” the blue alicorn asked weakly. “How many inhabitants are missing?” Celestia hesitated. “We are still not sure, but the most realistic estimates are about six thousand missing.” The pipe emitted a metal groan as the hand of the alicorn clenched around it. Luna began to tremble as a river of emotions, mostly sorrow and anger, began flowing through her. “Monsters,” she hissed venomously. “They will pay dearly for this.” Celestia said nothing, although she was feeling the same way as her sister. She leaned closer to Luna and enveloped her in a comforting hug until the ragged breathing of the blue alicorn returned to normal and she stopped quivering. “Thank you, Tia,” she muttered. She sniffled and dried her eyes with the back of her hand. She then straightened herself and cleared her voice, returning to the strong figure that the ponies knew. “There is something that I want to show you,” she said, gesturing Celestia to follow her. “We have found what is left of a magic artifact in the lowest level of the power plant, in the same room as the mana spot. The device is almost completely destroyed but from what I was able to deduce, it basically intercepts the energy from the mana capacitor and uses it for powering a teleportation sigil.” The eyes of Celestia shot open in shock. “Great maker,” she said with a whisper. “This explains everything.” “What do you mean?” “We had no idea how the Changelings had been able to reach the other settlements without being spotted. Even using their disguising ability, the sudden arrival of so many strangers would have drawn attention and suspicion.” The eyes of Luna flashed in realization. “Have the attacks occurred near mana spots?” Celestia nodded. “Indeed. We thought it was a mere coincidence, but after what you've told me, it all changes. If the Changelings are in possession of such technology, then our subjects are in great danger. I want to see that device.” Luna nodded. “The power plant is this way, just outside the town.” To save time, the two alicorns decided to teleport themselves, reappearing a few moments later right in front of the bulky building. Celestia eyed with astonishment the melted lock of the front door, but when she saw the burned lobby, she gasped. A simple explosion couldn't explain such a level of destruction; this was the result of a strong deflagration combined with very high temperatures. As they ventured further into the building, something on the gray carpet caught her attention. “Changeling blood,” she commented, noticing the dark green trail on the floor. Her horn glowed briefly as she performed a quick analysis. “And a powerful one, judging by the traces of mana.” Luna nodded. She had come to the same conclusion. “Most likely a young queen. Amongst the bodies we have found five Centurions, probably her bodyguards.” “The presence of Changeling princesses at the lead of the attacks would explain the lack of residual traces of Changeling magic in the other settlements. They are powerful and skilled enough to perform such tasks.” Celestia looked again at the trail of blood. The Changeling Princesses were dangerous, not to say deadly, creatures and to kill or even simply wound them wasn't an easy feat. 'And yet, despite their powers and defenses, something or somepony managed to hurt one of them.' This brought her to another question. “Tell me, Luna. Did you have any success in identifying who is responsible for the death of those Changelings?” “Unfortunately, no. All the security cameras were destroyed, and they made sure to leave no survivors. Many drones show clear signs that they were executed after having been wounded. We have found sign of what seems to be a crash landing in the market square, but we have no clues about the nature of the aircraft. However we have found several strange footprints. I have talked with one of our buffalo scouts before. She was able to give me a very basic description of them based on the footprints that she found. So far, all we know about them is that these creatures are digitigrades, they weigh approximately one hundred kilos, and they are over two meters tall, maybe more. Furthermore, by the distance between the footprints, she was able to tell me that they can reach remarkable speed. One of the tracks shows that one of them reached fifty kilometers per hour.” Celestia was impressed to say the least. “Was she able to determine how many there were?” “That's maybe the most shocking thing. Apparently, there were only five of them, one of which remained near the impact site.” “Just four of them did all of this? Surely they must have used some kind of combat or defensive magic.” Luna shook her head. “The only traces of combat magic that we've found are the ones left by the Changeling's energy spears. However, preliminary studies have revealed the presence of residual levels of radiation in the wounds of the Changelings.” 'So we are in the presence of beings that rely on technology rather than magic,' Celestia though as they reached the lowest level of the power plant. She could clearly see the room of the mana spot at the bottom of the corridor, but when they were halfway, Luna stopped in front of a door in the corridor guarded by a Lunar Guard, who snapped to attention at the sight of the two alicorns. Celestia looked at her sister in confusion. “There is something else that you should see,” Luna said, giving a nod to the unicorn mare in purple armor. The guard stepped aside and opened the door. “It's in this room,” Luna said, inviting Celestia to enter. The elder alicorn gave her a quizzical look, but nonetheless she entered the room. The first thing that Celestia noticed when she stepped into the room was the cold. The temperature was much lower than the one in the corridor, to the point that she could see of her own breath. “I used a spell to lower the temperature as to not spoil the scene,” Luna explained. Before Celestia could ask her the reasons for this, she saw the corpse covered by white sheet at the other side of the room. “I thought it would be better if you saw her before we move the body,” Luna said in a low voice. Celestia walked slowly toward the body and bent beside it. She grabbed a corner of fabric and slowly drew it back, revealing the body of a young unicorn mare with a light blue mane and green coat. The alicorn realized with sadness that she couldn't be older than Twilight. “She was part of the first team sent to investigate,” Luna informed her. Celestia looked up at her sister. “Was she already...” Luna nodded sadly. “There wasn't anything we could do. She was already dead when the guards found her.” “What have they done to you?” Celestia whispered, gently touching the cheek of the mare. The moment her hand touched the cheek of the mare, Celestia felt how low the residual level of magic of the unicorn was. It was almost nonexistent. Such levels could be expected from a long since dead individual, not from somepony clearly deceased for a few hours. 'The dull colors, the low reserves of magic...' Celestia's eyes widened in fear as the images of the victims of Tirek, drained of their powers, flashed through her mind. Without notice, she grabbed the waist of the pants of the deceased mare and lowered them, revealing her flank. “Sister, what are you doing?!” Luna exclaimed in dismay. “I have to check something,” the elder alicorn said without turning. “It's still there,” she sighed in relief, putting the garment back into place. “What?” “Her cutie mark. Whatever thing the Changelings have done to her, they haven't stolen her magic. Not all, at least. However, they seem to have enhanced their feeding technique.” In the past, Changelings fed off of emotions, slowly absorbing them until their victim was just an empty shell; an unpleasant experience, but with time and proper therapy, the victim was able to recover, at least partially. What was in front of them was something simply monstrous. “They have not just drained her of her emotions; they have basically absorbed her life force.” Luna looked at the unicorn body in horror and pity. It must have been an awful and miserable way to die, feeling her body become weaker and weaker while all the bodies systems collapsed. Her eyes fell on the face of the unicorn. "She looks peaceful," she murmured. It was then that Celestia noticed the wrapped plastic sheet under the head of the mare. “Has anypony moved her body?” “No. The guards that have found her said she was already like that.” 'Whoever has killed these Changelings at least showed some compassion for this poor girl,' Celestia thought as she pulled the sheet back into place. With a final glance at the body, Celestia and Luna left the room. The princess of the night called the sentinel and ordered her to call a forensic team to retrieve the body in the room. The Lunar Guard nodded and hurried to the exit to perform the order. “What should we do now? Even if we have discovered the game of the Changelings, we are still vulnerable to future attacks.” “Before I left Canterlot I put the Royal Guard and the police forces on a state of alert, ready to intervene without prior warning. I'll order to increase the security in the areas with a mana spot.” Luna nodded, smiling faintly. She always admired the control and the efficiency that her sister showed in the moments of crisis. However, a thought crossed her mind. “What about the missing ponies? Soon the news of the attacks will spread through the entire kingdom.” “I know. We cannot hide the truth nor would it be right. Our subjects deserve to know about the threat of the Changelings. We will address our subjects with an official statement, explaining to them the situation and attempting to reassure them. However, I think it would be better to omit a few details.” “You mean the involvement of a third faction in the events of Greenville?” Celestia nodded. “At least for now, until we know more about them.” Luna looked at her sister with uncertainty. “Are you sure that hiding this information from our subjects is a wise idea, sister?” The elder sister emitted an unhappy short chuckle. “Not at all, in fact I'm pretty sure that it will backfire on us in one way or another. But if we do otherwise, we would only spread the panic.” “More than what will be after the news of the attacks will be made public?” Luna asked with a raised brow. “I can see your point,” Celestia admitted with a sigh. “I honestly don't know if we should be more concerned over the audacity of the attacks of Chrysalis, or that there is a team of unknown individuals that managed to kill an entire company of Changeling soldiers with ease despite being numerically inferior.” “I would like to meet them, whoever they are,” Luna admitted after a bit. “They would be powerful allies against Chrysalis.” Celestia shook her head. “I wish I had your same optimism. The enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend. They killed those Changelings just because they were on their path. We don't know what would happen if they were to reach a populated area.” As they proceeded through a barely discernible path left by some animal, Tarya gave a closer look to their surroundings. She wasn't an expert in xenoflora, but the vegetation was surprisingly similar to those that could be found on human worlds. 'I wonder what could be the cause of so many similarities. It can't be a mere coincidence.' Their march through the forest proceeded at a steady yet slow pace due to the thick vegetation that surrounded them. The forest canopy blocked almost all the light coming from the moon, forcing them to resort to the light enhancer system of their helmets, dyeing the world around them in a wide shade of blue and purple. But the real issue was the vegetation itself. More than once Tarya was tempted to use her sword to cut through the tangled mess of branches on their path, but had to restrain herself. The dark tonalities of their armor blended perfectly with the almost total darkness of the forest undergrowth even without activating their cloaking system, but there was the risk that the light of her plasma blade could attract unwanted attention. The odds of encountering one of the locals in a forest after sunset was very thin, but the same thing couldn't be said about the local wildlife. Even if they were in a marginal zone of the forest, they didn’t know what kind of dangerous beasts dwelled amongst these woods. The Guta, native to Reach, was a good example of what kind of creatures you can find near populated areas. After what seemed like an eternity, the forest eventually ended. Moving aside the branches of a particularly thick bush, they found themselves in front of the blue surface of a lake. Between the edge of the forest and the water’s surface there was a dirt road that ran alongside the lakeshore. Tarya followed the road with her gaze. “We're headed the right way,” the Zealot said as she saw a massive concrete dam located several hundred meters on their right. After a few minutes of walking along the road, they reached a point where the road parted in two ways: one path proceeded straight, likely running along the valley over the artificial barrier; the other turned toward the dam, leading directly to its crest by a ramp. There weren't guard posts, just a tall iron wire fence placed on both extremities of the dam to prevent the access. Much to their surprise, the gate of the fence wasn't closed but only ajar. The Commando snorted in disgust at the almost nonexistent level of security. “Sabotage would not only cripple their energy production, but also endanger the settlement downstream.” Tarya couldn't help but agree with him. The ponies seemed to have another thing in common with the humans: they lacked a real concept of permanence. The dam was made of concrete, nothing more than sand and gravel, destined to deteriorate and crumble in mere centuries, at best. She wasn't expecting the inhabitants of the planet to use oxidation-proof alloys or hard light, but she found the choice of material as frail as the concrete for something as vital as a dam, even questionable to say at the least. Putting aside their engineering criticism, the two Sangheili reached the top of the dam. It was a good spot of observation, it allowed a perfect view of the territory downstream, including their target. The small settlement was about two kilometers from their actual position, not too far from the forest, and was crossed by the small river that originated from the drainage water of the dam. The Zealot also noticed another set of woods in proximity of the settlement; judging by the homogeneous sizes of the plants and their geometric disposition, it was probably some kind of orchard. “Visual contact established. Initiate identification of the point of origin,” she said, tapping a series of commands on her wrist computer. A long series of data strings began to scroll quickly on her HUD, followed by two ballistic diagrams that intersected in the sky, one showing the trajectory of the Phantom before it was shot down, the other the energy ray, from the point of impact backwards to the ground. She followed the vector with her gaze before she found herself looking at a specific point. “According to the ballistic calculations of the Huragok, the ray was fired from there,” she said, pointing to a specific section of the town on the right bend of the river. “Energy scans?” Zhar asked. “Nothing relevant, aside from the values you would expect from a civilian settlement of this technological level.” “They may have powered down the weapon.” “Assuming that there really is a weapon,” she retorted. “Are you still skeptical?” “Well, the Phantom has left the surface without interference.” The Commando kept his gaze on the town, reflecting for a few moments. “It's dark and it's likely that most of the inhabitants are sleeping now. Let's go get a closer look.” 'Time to become ghosts,' Tarya thought as both Sangheili activated their active camo. In a blink the two aliens seemed to disappear into thin air, their bodies nothing more than a faint distortion in the air, practically impossible to detect.